Carlton Palmer believes both Ipswich Town and Leeds United could catch Leicester City in a three-horse race for the Championship title.
The automatic promotion race has been one of the most intense and hotly contested in many years so far, with the standard being set at the top of the table at an all-time high.
The pace being set by Leeds in particular of late has been ferocious, and has dragged Leicester back into the mix following back-to-back defeats for the Foxes, including a 3-1 defeat at Elland Road on Friday.
Having already beaten them during the first half of the campaign, Daniel Farke’s side won their ninth consecutive league game, and have won 11 of 12 games in all competitions in 2024, with just a solitary draw against Plymouth in the FA Cup as a blemish on their record.
Leeds had a difficult spell during the festive period and have had to make up ground, meanwhile Ipswich needed to improve in recent weeks, having dropped off the pace through Januaryand the beginning of February.
However, Southampton have lost three of the last four games, allowing Ipswich and Leicester to move five points clear.
Upcoming fixtures could be defining, with Ipswich facing five teams in the bottom half during their next six games, meanwhile Southampton face the likes of Preston, and Sunderland in their coming games.
Leeds came through arguably their hardest remaining game and face four sides threatened byn relegation in their next four fixtures.
There are bound to be many more twists and turns before the end of the season, and the spot in second could easily change hands multiple times between the three clubs involved. However, Leicester are potentially also in the mix and not out of sight.
Carlton Palmer’s automatic promotion verdict
Ex-England international and former Leeds player, Carlton Palmer, is confident his old side will be promoted this season, but has not ruled out both Ipswich and Leeds from catching Leicester.
